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Equine Nutrition: A Balanced Diet

Everyday across America barn managers on horse farms all over the place walk to the feed room and start to scoop out feed for the horses. Most barn managers base what their horses eat off of what is most convenient for the barn as well as what is the most cost effective feed. What people are not aware of is that as they are feeding their horses the cheapest feed they can find they are actually wasting their money in the long run. A well balanced diet is crucial for optimum output. There are many things to consider before tempering with a horse's diet including what types of feed are on the market, and much forage a horse eats. Also there are some feeding guidelines that need to be followed to ensure the horse's comfort, safety, and health.

The target horse for this paper will be one that is in constant and intense work and competition. The horse will be aged between eight and fourteen so that the target age no longer has the needs of a growing horse but does not yet have the needs of a senior horse. These horses will be in full and strenuous work, meaning working six days a week for forty-five minutes or more.

Cereal Feeds

First you should consider the cereal feeds. These feeds include barley, oats, and maize. According to Julie Brega and her book Essential Equine Studies Book Two: Health, Nutrition & Fitness, Cereals are "quite often the basis of the concentrate ration and include energy giving food such as oats, maize, and barley" (Brega 100). Cereals are different in that they need to be prepared in certain ways in order to improve digestibility. Methods for doing this include rolling, brushing, crimping, or heat treatments such as extrusion. These preparation techniques are needed because barley, oats, and maize have hulls that need to be removed, and the kernels needs to be exposed in order for the nutrients to be at their full impact.

Oats, Barley, and Maize

Oats have a relatively high starch content which is digested in the small intestine. Starch is easily digested in this organ therefore oats are digested quickly, "yielding glucose which is then available for energy production." (Brega 101) Good quality oats are plump, shiny, dust free, and have a pale yellow coloring. These oats should also have a slightly sweet odor. Naked oats are a modern development. They happen as a result of modified plant breeding. The husk separates from the kernel during harvesting which results in a clean grain. According to Julie Brega, a kilogram

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